About
Dr Chengchen Zhang is a Lecturer (aka Assistant Professor) in Digital Health & Biomedical Engineering, School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton, UK. She is also a visiting scholar at UNSW and the University of Sydney in Australia. Dr Zhang has published over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles including ACS Nano, Advanced Functional Materials, Small, Chemistry of Materials, ACS Applied Materials Interfaces, and Applied Materials Today (Google Scholar). She was the 2023 Newton International Fellowship awardee from the Royal Society, UK.
Dr Zhang's research group focuses on innovating therapeutic and biosensing platforms by leveraging synthetic advanced functional materials to address challenges in the precise therapy and accurate diagnosis of various diseases and conditions. The ultimate goal of her group is to achieve personalised and effective treatments for cancer, inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases, neuropsychiatric conditions, and beyond. We draw inspiration from synthetic material-biology interactions and exploit these insights to develop simple but intelligent therapeutics and biosensors. Our research is highly multidisciplinary, intersecting pharmaceutical sciences, material science, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, electronics, cancer research, immunology, neuropsychiatry, etc.
Education & Employment
- 2023/09-present Lecturer, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
- 2023/09-Present The Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP, part-time), University of Southampton, UK
- 2022/11-2023/07 Postdoctoral Researcher, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (Mentor: Prof. Ewa M. Goldys)
- 2019/05−2022/12 Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia (Supervisors: Prof. Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, Dr Dorna Esrafilzadeh)
- 2017/06−2019/05 Administration Officer (full-time) & Research Assistant (part-time), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- 2014/09−2017/06 Master by Research in Nanomedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- 2010/09−2014/06 Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Research Grants
- 2024/06-2024/07 ECS Pump Priming Fund 2024, University of Southampton, UK. Solo PI
- 2024/03-2026/03 International Exchanges 2023 (IEC\NSFC\233339). The Royal Society, UK. Lead PI
- 2024/03-2025/09 Standard Research Grant (RG\R1\241228). The Royal Society, UK. Solo PI
- 2023/09-2025/08 Start-up and Seed Fundings, University of Southampton, UK. Solo PI
- 2023/08 Awarded the Newton International Fellowship (NIF\R1\231027). The Royal Society, UK. (Declined due to taking the Lecturer Position at the University of Southampton)
- 2022/02 Awarded the Development and Research Training Grant, University of New South Wales, Australia
Honours and Awards
- 2024 Dean’s Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Faculty, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, UK.
- 2024 Awarded the Fellowship of the HEA (FHEA) by the Advance HE, UK
- 2023 Accredited as a Global Talent in Biomedical Engineering, Department of Home Affairs, UK
- 2023 Accredited as a Global Talent in Health Industries, Department of Home Affairs, Australia
- 2023 Best Oral Presentation Award, 13th International NanoMedicine Conference, Australia
- 2022 Best Poster Award, 2022 MRS Spring Meeting, Hawai’i, USA
Editorial Activities
- Associate Editor of Health Nanotechnology (2024/02-present)
- Guest Editor of RSC Materials Advances for the theme collection “Material and device design for healthcare monitoring and therapeutics.” (2023/09-present)
- Review Editor of Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology on “Biomaterials” (2023/07-present)
- Guest Editor of Biosensors for the special issue on “Enzyme-assisted Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) for the ultra-sensitive diagnosis” (2023/02-2023/09)
- Review Editor of Frontiers in Medical Technology on “Diagnostic and Therapeutic Devices” (2022/11-present)
- Regular Reviewer for International Journals: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Research, Journal of Nanobiotechnology, Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Biosensors, etc.